Clippers-Raptors Preview

By JOHN KOSIKPosted Jan 23 2016 6:38PM

The last time the Los Angeles Clippers faced Toronto, they scored a season low and were left searching for answers at the close of a 2-7 tailspin.

Since that night, however, they haven't been losing all that much.

Chasing their 13th victory in 15 games, the Clippers face a stiff test Sunday against a lock-down Raptors team looking to extend its season-best win streak to eight.

The Clippers (28-15) rank fourth in the NBA with 105.0 points per game and have been even better with 110.2 since Dec. 25 - all the more impressive considering leading scorer Blake Griffin has been sidelined the entire span with a partial tear in his left quadriceps.

Griffin, averaging 23.2 points, isn't expected to return until Tuesday at Indiana at the earliest.

Even with him in the lineup Nov. 22, Los Angeles couldn't get anything going in a 91-80 home loss to the Raptors (28-15). The game marked one of two in which the Clippers were held under 90 points - they also had 80 in a loss at Chicago on Dec. 10 - and they missed 25 of 32 3-point attempts while shooting 39.2 percent overall.

"We're pretty frustrated," Griffin said after scoring nine in that one. "But we can't let that frustration affect us negatively moving forward."

Los Angeles has moved on - it's 22-8 since that loss and showed a fierce level of camaraderie in a 116-88 rout of the New York Knicks on Friday to improve to 1-1 on a five-game trip.

DeAndre Jordan had 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting and earned a technical foul for defending Chris Paul after the point guard took a shot in the face from New York's Robin Lopez in the third quarter that left him with a swollen lip.

Jordan responded by shoving Lopez from behind, and after the two big men tussled again later, Jordan was whistled for the technical.

"I was just upset," said Jordan, who had 13 points and 15 boards in the first meeting with Toronto. "Chris is the smallest dude on the floor, you know what I'm saying? So we've got to protect him."

Paul held his own with 16 points, 13 assists and six rebounds. He was 1 for 8 in the first half but scored 14 in the third - perhaps fired up by the hit from Lopez.

"Chris is a competitor, so if I'm going to turn a guy on, it would probably not be him," coach Doc Rivers said of Paul, who has averaged 20.2 points and 10.8 assists with a 3.78 assists-to-turnover ratio since Christmas.

The reserves played a huge role with 56 points, and the Clippers shot 56.6 percent while going 13 of 23 from beyond the arc.

That may be tough to sustain against the Raptors, who rank fourth in the league with 96.8 points allowed per game and are coming off Friday's 101-81 home win over Miami on the 10th anniversary of Kobe Bryant torching them for that same amount by himself.

DeMar DeRozan scored 33 while Kyle Lowry added 15 and the moment of the game when he landed on a fan while chasing a loose ball and gave the woman a kiss on the forehead.

"We're just playing, man," said Lowry. "We're just out there playing with confidence. No matter what happens in the game, we're just trying to keep it smooth and not get too up or down."

DeRozan scored 21 against the Clippers in November, but he and Lowry shot a combined 6 of 27 from the field.

Toronto's seven-game streak is its longest since winning a franchise-record nine in a row from March 22-April 9, 2002.

Copyright 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Raptors down Clippers for eighth straight win, 112-94

By PAUL ATTFIELDPosted Jan 25 2016 12:28AM

TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Raptors used a stellar game from its reserves to cruise past the Los Angeles Clippers for their season-high eighth straight win.

Toronto's backups outscored their Clippers counterparts 51-29 while shooting 57.6 percent and finishing with their highest total of the season. Terrence Ross led the reserves with 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers for his fourth straight game with at least 10 points off the bench.

"We gave up 34 points in the first quarter and I thought that it was going to be a long night," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "The second unit, Terrence and that group came in and changed the game; started getting into bodies and getting into players, being physical. I thought that changed the mentality."

The Raptors beat the Clippers for the fourth straight time, completing a second straight season sweep. It also marked the first time in franchise history the Raptors swept both Los Angeles teams in the same season, having beaten the Lakers in both meetings already.

The Raptors' winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history, one short of the team-record set in the 2001-02 season.

"We are playing team basketball, so that's how it goes," Ross said. "It's halfway through the season so we all know how to play. We all know where we like the ball and the tendencies of the other players, so it's all about playing together."

Los Angeles - which fell to 11-3 while Blake Griffin recovers from a strained left quad - led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, but Toronto's second unit sparked a change in the second quarter as they began the period on a 17-3 run to turn the game around and help the Raptors take a 62-49 lead at halftime.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn't mince his words when it came to discussing the performance of his bench players.

"They were just awful," he said. "I think that's it. It's rare when you lose by 18 points and your starters all have a plus. That doesn't happen very often. Our bench has been good but tonight they were awful."

The Clippers got within four points at one point in the third, but the Raptors then pulled away again. With Toronto leading 78-71 with 1:48 left in the quarter, Joseph made a layup and DeRozan followed with a 3 in the final minute to push the lead to 12 heading into the fourth.

"It's not about the first unit, the second unit, it's our team," Paul said. "There's been nights where the starters have come out and haven't played well and the second unit has brought us back so I told us after the game that we've just got to find a way to put it all together."

QUOTABLE

Rivers, who coached in Boston for nine seasons and led the Celtics to the NBA title in 2008, took note of the New England Patriots' loss to Denver in the AFC championship game earlier in the day.

"Patriots lost, bad night," he said.

SOLID OAK

Charles Oakley - who spent 17 of his 19 seasons in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors - sat courtside. After being given a rousing reception from the Air Canada Centre crowd, he then held court with an attentive Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford in the visitors' locker room after the game.

DEEP BENCH

The last time Toronto had four second-unit players score 10-plus points each in the same game was Dec. 12, 2014, against the Indiana Pacers.

SHARP SHOOTING

The Raptors have made 11 or more 3-pointers in each of the last four games, going 49 of 100 from beyond the arc. Toronto is 12-4 this year when it makes at least 10 3s.

TIP-INS

Clippers: The newest Clipper, Jeff Ayres played five minutes and registering two points on free throws. Ayres signed a 10-day contract on Saturday. He had previously been playing for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, averaging 16.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists while appearing in 23 games. The power forward has previously played in 220 NBA games with Portland, Indiana and San Antonio, winning a championship with the Spurs in 2013-14. ... Before Sunday's game, Paul had averaged 10.6 assists per game against the Raptors, the most of any player against Toronto in the franchise's history.

Raptors: Toronto is now 9-7 against Western Conference teams this season, including six wins against four of the top five teams in the conference (San Antonio and Oklahoma City once each, and the Clippers and Dallas twice each).

UP NEXT

Clippers: At Indiana on Tuesday night.

Raptors: Host Washington on Tuesday night.

Copyright 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited